Hillsboro: Fairgrounds Ball Fields Open for Comment; Sept. Estimate Ran $2.65M Over Budget
- Hillsboro's plan for a new ball-field complex at the Washington County Fairgrounds is now in land-use review, and written comments are due by 5 p.m.
- The public notice for case DR26-0038, posted Nov.
- The project replaces playing time the city gave up for the Hillsboro Hops.
Hillsboro’s plan for a new ball-field complex at the Washington County Fairgrounds is now in land-use review, and written comments are due by 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20. A cost estimate shown to the city’s Parks & Recreation Commission on Sept. 24, the latest in the records we found, put the project at $31,654,116, which is $2,654,116 above the $29 million the city listed as available.
The public notice for case DR26-0038, posted Nov. 6, covers 810 NE 28th Ave., between NE 28th and NE 34th avenues, south of NE Cornell Road and north of the MAX line. The notice describes new sports fields, athletic courts, a children’s playground and a building with restrooms and concessions. The city is the applicant; the city and Washington County are listed as owners.
Fields lost to the Hops ballpark
The project replaces playing time the city gave up for the Hillsboro Hops. According to the Sept. 24 commission slides, the new Hops stadium was built in 2024 and 2025 on fields 4, 5 and 6 at the Gordon Faber Recreation Complex. The slides say the fairgrounds site “was selected for remaining loss of use.”
The city’s project page puts the site at 19.6 acres next to Westside Commons and the Hillsboro Airport/Fairgrounds MAX station. It says the fields are being designed for softball, youth baseball, youth soccer and other field sports. The site plan attached to the notice shows a 20-foot by 14-foot-8-inch concession stand, a maintenance room, men’s and women’s restrooms and two all-user restrooms.
What the September estimate showed
As of Sept. 24, those plans cost more than the money set aside. The slides list $27,544,049 in direct construction costs, led by $21,483,396 for a south parking lot, three softball fields and one baseball field. Soft costs, such as consultant fees, wetland mitigation and permits, add $4,110,067.
The money available is $29 million, the slides say: “$20M in bonds/SIP to be repaid by Hops ticket sales” plus $9 million in park system development charges, which are fees the city collects from new development. By our calculation, the estimate ran 9.2% over that budget. The figures below date from Sept. 24; the notice lists no cost.
| Key number | What the records show |
|---|---|
| Total project cost (Sept. 24 estimate) | $31,654,116 |
| Budget available | $29,000,000 |
| Gap (our calculation) | $2,654,116, or 9.2% |
| Direct construction costs | $27,544,049 |
| Soft costs | $4,110,067 |
| Highest lead result in site soil | 31 mg/kg |
| Portland natural background, per slides | 79 mg/kg |
| Oregon DEQ direct-contact limit, per slides | 400 mg/kg |
| Comment deadline | 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20 |
| Planned construction | May to December 2027 |
Staff planned to “check in with design and cost estimate updates this winter” and to “make adjustments as needed,” the slides say. A later step lists a guaranteed maximum price, or GMP, going to the commission and then to the City Council for approval.
Lead levels in the soil
Those slides also report soil tests for lead, with a top result at the site of 31 milligrams per kilogram of soil. The slides list Portland’s natural background level as 79 mg/kg and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s direct-contact limit as 400 mg/kg. By our calculation, the top reading was under 8% of that limit.
The slides describe the results as “well below” state safety levels for direct contact. They also say the environmental consultant does not recommend more soil assessments at the site. At the meeting, Vice Chair Sia Lindstrom asked about additional lead testing at facilities near the airport, according to the Sept. 24 minutes. The minutes do not record an answer.
How to weigh in before the deadline
Comments on this application go in writing, not to a hearing. This is a Type II review, which the city’s development code defines as a staff decision with public notice but no public hearing. The notice says the director will decide the case using the criteria in code Section 12.80.040. The code allows approval, approval with conditions or denial.
The notice and the city code give these steps:
- Send written comments so they arrive before 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20.
- Mail them to: Planning Division, 150 E Main Street, 4th Floor, Hillsboro, Oregon 97123.
- Put the case number, DR26-0038, on everything you send.
- Be specific. Under state law, an issue not raised by the deadline, or raised without enough detail for the decision maker to respond, cannot be the basis of an appeal to the state Land Use Board of Appeals.
- To ask questions, call planner Melinda Gross at 503-681-6153. The full application can be reviewed free at the Planning Division.
The notice lists mail as the way to send written comments and does not mention email submissions. Under the code, comments that arrive after the period closes will not be considered. The notice’s Nov. 6 date and Nov. 20 deadline are 14 days apart, the minimum comment period the code sets.
Commenting also puts the decision in a resident’s mailbox. The code says the director’s decision is mailed within seven days to everyone who commented. Only the applicant or a person who commented may appeal to the Planning Commission, and an appeal must be filed within 15 days of that mailing, with a fee.
If the September timeline holds, final design follows in February 2027, permits in March and construction from May to December 2027. The city’s project page says a community open house will be held before any construction begins.
Top image: Illustrative image, 2021: a youth baseball field at Essex Park in Portland, Oregon. Photo: Another Believer, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped).
